Site Selection & Startups
Banks and healthcare practices have more in common than most people realize.
Market Perspective
Banks and healthcare practices have more in common than most people realize.
Both need to be easy to find and easy to enter. Both serve people throughout the day. Both benefit from convenient access, adequate parking and a building the public can recognize without confusion.
That is why a former bank branch can make an unusually good medical or dental practice.
Our team has helped multiple healthcare clients evaluate and convert former banks into practices. These projects can look unconventional at first, but the same characteristics that once made a property valuable to a bank often make it valuable to a practice owner.
That does not mean every former bank is a winner. The real question is not whether bank buildings can work. It is whether a particular building, site and purchase price work for your practice.
Convenience
Traditional bank branches were generally positioned to make visiting them simple. They were often built along established commercial corridors, near major intersections and in locations with direct access from the surrounding community.
That basic real estate strategy translates well to healthcare.
Patients do not want a complicated arrival. They want to recognize the building, turn into the property, park nearby and understand where to enter. A freestanding former bank can provide that experience more naturally than an office hidden inside a larger complex.
The visibility still matters—but not because most patients choose a dentist or physician after seeing a roadside sign. Today, they are more likely to find the practice online and use their phone to navigate there. The building’s visibility makes the final part of that trip easier. It creates a recognizable identity, improves wayfinding and gives the practice control over how the property presents itself.
The Site
In healthcare real estate, people often concentrate on the interior and overlook the land underneath it. Former bank properties can be valuable because of site characteristics that are difficult to create later:
A freestanding building
Existing curb cuts and established access
A recognizable position along a commercial corridor
On-site parking
Monument or building-sign opportunities
Space around the building for patient circulation or a drop-off area
Control without neighboring tenants or a shared entrance
Some branches have more land and pavement than a typical office property because of former drive-through lanes and vehicle-stacking areas. That does not automatically mean every paved area can count as legal parking, but it may give the design team options that would not exist on a tighter site.
A former drive-through can sometimes be enclosed to create additional interior space. In other cases, part of it may become a covered patient drop-off area. What is possible depends on the structure, zoning and municipal approval, but the extra site area can be an advantage.
Fit
Many former branches fall within a practical size range for independent medical and dental users. The lobby can become reception and patient waiting. Existing offices can be reconfigured into consultation rooms, administrative space or clinical rooms. Open banking areas can provide a flexible starting point for a new floor plan.
The fit varies by specialty. Dental practices need to solve for plumbing, equipment, imaging and the efficient placement of operatories. Primary care and specialty medical practices need the right relationship among reception, exam rooms, staff areas and provider space. Physical therapy may benefit from larger open areas. Urgent care and veterinary uses bring their own operating and approval requirements.
The former use does not eliminate healthcare construction. It can, however, provide a well-located shell with enough space and site control to justify that investment.
The Vault
The vault is the first thing everyone asks about.
Sometimes a former branch has one. Sometimes it does not. When a vault is present, it needs to be addressed in the design, but it is usually not a reason to abandon an otherwise good project.
Depending on its location and the practice’s floor plan, the vault may be incorporated as secure storage, records space, an equipment room or another nonclinical use. The door or part of the enclosure can also be modified or removed when necessary. It may add work to the build-out, but in our experience it is generally a manageable design and construction issue—not the deciding factor in whether the property works.
The right approach is simple: identify it early, have the architect and contractor evaluate it, and carry the solution in the project budget.
Ownership
Many former bank branches are offered for sale, which gives a practice owner the opportunity to own both the operating business and the real estate it occupies.
That can be a meaningful long-term wealth decision. Instead of sending rent to a landlord, the owner may build equity in the property while gaining greater control over the building, signage, maintenance, hours and future improvements. Some owners later sell the practice but retain the building and lease it to the buyer, creating a separate income-producing asset.
Ownership does not make occupancy costs fixed or eliminate risk. Property taxes, insurance, utilities, repairs and capital improvements still exist. Buying also reduces flexibility compared with leasing, and the practice must be able to support both the acquisition and the improvements.
The argument for ownership is not that buying is always better. It is that the right building, purchased on the right terms, can become part of the owner’s long-term financial plan rather than merely a place to operate.
Due Diligence
The architecture can be changed. A bad site, an unworkable floor plate or the wrong economics are much harder to fix.
Before moving forward, a practice owner should understand:
1. Does the location actually fit the practice? Visibility cannot compensate for weak demographics, the wrong referral base, poor competitive positioning or a location outside the area the owner truly wants to serve.
2. Can patients enter and leave conveniently? A prominent corner may still have restricted turns, difficult access or circulation problems during busy periods.
3. Does the municipality allow the use? Zoning, parking requirements, site-plan approval and any special-use conditions need to be verified before the building is treated as viable.
4. Does the floor plate support an efficient clinical plan? Existing walls are less important than whether the final layout works for patients, providers and staff.
5. Can the building systems support the practice? Electrical service, HVAC capacity, plumbing, drainage, roof condition, accessibility and life-safety requirements should be investigated during due diligence.
6. Are there restrictions tied to the former bank use? ATM rights, access agreements, easements, signage limitations or deed restrictions can survive the sale and affect how the property can be used.
7. What is the complete project cost? The purchase price is only one component. The decision should account for design, approvals, construction, equipment, financing, contingencies and the time required to open.
A former bank should not receive a pass on due diligence because it looks like a great healthcare location. It should earn the recommendation after the site, building and numbers have been tested.
Supply
Bank branches are not disappearing altogether, but the overall number of physical branches has been declining for years as customer behavior changes and banks consolidate overlapping locations. The Federal Reserve has documented a steady decline in branches since 2011.
Michigan has an especially visible example in 2026. Fifth Third completed its merger with Comerica in February, and regulatory reporting identified 81 planned branch closures nationally, including 75 in Michigan. The customer conversion is scheduled for Labor Day weekend, with Comerica accounts moving to Fifth Third on September 8, 2026.
That creates a near-term group of opportunities, but the larger point is evergreen: former bank branches will continue to enter the market, and healthcare practices are among the users best positioned to give the right ones a productive second life.
The Better Question
A building does not have to look like a medical office today to become an excellent practice tomorrow.
Some of the best opportunities begin as something else entirely. A former bank may offer the kind of access, parking, identity, land and ownership potential that would be difficult to find in a conventional medical suite. The vault, teller line and drive-through are simply existing conditions to solve—not reasons to dismiss the property.
The key is knowing which characteristics create real value and which ones create cost without improving the practice.
Before committing to a former bank—or ruling one out because it feels unconventional—have the property evaluated through the lens of the practice you are trying to build. The right representation can help determine whether the location works, uncover the issues that need to be negotiated and keep a promising building from becoming an expensive mistake.
Related Insights
Veterinary practices face zoning, noise and municipal approval risks that other medical users often do not. Those issues need to be identified before the owner commits to a property.
Read the perspective → Market Perspective · Site Selection & StartupsLess than it used to be — and probably less than you think. Why the roadside sign is entering the patient’s decision later than it once did.
Read the perspective → Market Perspective · Buying & Due DiligenceWhat happens between an accepted offer and a closing, and why coordination is most of the work.
Read the perspective → GuideThe real estate side of opening a practice: financing, location, lease terms beyond asking rent, and whether to lease or buy.
Read the guide →Building Purchases
We can help you test the site, the floor plate and the full project cost before the purchase price becomes the smallest number in the deal.
Start a Conversation